Once Upon A Dream Bubble
by The.Burlesque.Mistress.92
Summary: Who knew that people outside of the SBURB game could enter the dream bubbles? Well Reader is about to discover this as well as discover some flushed feelings. Cronus x Reader Insert
1. Entering the Bubbles and meeting Cronus

**ONCE UPON A DREAM BUBBLE~** **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: In this story you've never heard of Homestuck or SBURB so ya... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~** You opened your eyes and saw a strange sight. The sky was an odd pinkish color. But according to the position of the sun it was around ten in the morning. But more importantly, nowhere near dawn or dusk. So the sky shouldn't be pink. it should be blue since there are hardly any clouds in the sky. But a more important thought comes to the front of your thoughts and you wonder where you are. The last thing you remember was going to bed. You had to get to work early the next day so you decided to hit the hay early. And then it hits you! You must be asleep and having one of those lucid dreams you'd read about. You grin broadly and sit up quickly so you can take in your dream surroundings. And you couldn't believe how beautiful this dream was. Everything was strange colors. Like the large tree that was to your left. Instead of the common brown bark and green leaves it had royal blue bark and lavender and pink leaves and flowers. It was something out of a fantasy novel. So strange and beautiful that it make your heart soar. And you began to get excited when you saw there were different paths that led to different places. One path was purple stone and led to what looked like a mythical castle and another path was white sand that led out to crisp blue water while another led to a normal looking area. It had green grass and odd grey buildings that had odd clusters of colorful windows. You didn't know which way to go first. But you decided to play eenie, meenie, miney, moe to decide. But before you could finish the little song to decide where to go you heard a smooth male voice that made you shiver in delight. "Hey there kitten~ I've nevwer seen you around here before~" You turned and stared in shock at the teen before you. He looked like a demon or something. With his candy corn colored horns, weird fin like ears, grey skin, and what looked like gills. But you'd be lying if you said he wasn't easy on the eyes despite all of this. Hell, he probably looks better because of them. He looked exotic and otherworldly~ He grinned at you when he saw you checking him out and said, "Like wvhat ya see babe~?" You grinned right back and said, "Well maybe I do hot stuff~" And you laughed when he blushed violet of all colors and lost his cool and turned into a shocked mess. He acted like he'd never been flirted with before, which you thought was precious. You giggled and crossed your arms while he tried to gather himself enough to form a reply. But you were having too much fun to let him get his former swag back so you started circling him like a hungry shark. "Aww~ What's the matter cutie? You were all set to woo me a minute ago. Where'd that confidence go?" You watched him gulp and fiddle with his cigarette before he bit his lip and say, "Sorry kitten. I'm just not used to anybody flirting back is all. Kinda caught me off guard." You put an arm around his shoulder and said next to his ear, "Can't imagine why nobody would want to flirt with a major hottie like you. I know I'm enjoying it. Hehehe~ Nice blush by the way. Real cute~" The boy giggled before he caught himself and coughed and blushed harder while you smirked. You liked this dream. It was fun and the boys were cuties. Sure he was a bit younger than you usually went for, barely looking 20 while you were almost thirty, but hey~ He was really hot. Nothing wrong here. It was a dream. Anything goes. And if anything went then...you could do THIS. You reached up and turned the boys face so he was looking you in the eye. Then, much to his shock, you leaned in and kissed him. He froze as you kissed him before he melted and kissed you back. You could tell he wasn't very experienced but he was eager so that made up for it. You licked his bottom lip then nibbled it and tugged on it playfully. You pulled back from the kiss and chuckled at the boys blissed out look. He smiled and said in a slightly breathless manner, "Hehehe~ That wvas...wvowv~" He sounded so pleasantly flustered that you couldn't help but laugh. You pecked him on the lips and replied, "Yeah~ It was pretty great." But then you frowned when you heard your alarm clock chime loudly in your ears. A loud sigh escaped you and you pecked the boy on the lips and said, "I gotta go sugar~ But maybe I'll see you again." The boy stuttered out a protest as he watched you begin to fade from view. And before you faded away you said with a wink, "Oh and I'm (_) by the way~" You disappeared like a phantom and the horned boy stared open mouthed before mumbling sadly, "I'm Cronus..." **~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A/N: I may make this more than a one shot. Idk~**


	2. Returning to show the TRUTH

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ === Be (_)~ You squeezed your eyes shut and massaged your temples as you sat at your office desk. The day had been hell so far and it wasn't even time for your lunch hour yet. You couldn't believe how incompetent some of the people you worked with were. It was mind boggling. But you pushed those thoughts away because you knew if you focused on them then you'd get a terrible headache. But you smiled when your dream from last night floated to the front of your mind. That was one of the best and most realistic dreams you've ever had. Now you know why people love lucid dreams. They were amazing to experience. You hoped you got to have more. You looked down at your file covered desktop and sighed to yourself. "But dreaming will have to wait." You buckled down and got back to work. It wasn't going to do itself after all. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Timeskip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You wearily trudged into your loft and dropped your shopping bags in the kitchen. You were bone tired after work but there wasn't a scrap of food in your kitchen so you had to go food shopping. And now you felt like passing out. But before you could you had to put everything perishable up. You didn't bother with the cans of food, you just left them on the floor before you shuffled to your room and got changed and went to bed. You had forgotten about your lucid dream during the day because you were swamped with work and then shopping. But when you snuggled into bed and closed your eyes you remember seeing the darkness of your room encompassing you. And you were peaceful until light started building around you. And when it did you realized you weren't tired anymore. Curiosity overcame you and you opened your eyes to see the same pink sky from the night before. You smiled and sat up. But instead of the blue and pink trees of before, now you were laying on a beach of white sand. And there were waves of light blue water lapping at the beach and the scent of salt swirled around you. A flash of something bright caught your eye and you looked down and gasped in horror. You were dressed in a hideously bright pair of pajamas that had a crescent moon on the chest. They were god awful and the color made you cringe even as you stood. You wondered why the hell you were wearing something so awful in the first place when you were dreaming. But you perked up when you realized you could most likely change them into something more appealing. This was nothing but a lucid dream after all. And people in lucid dreams had total control. Or so you heard. But the question was how you change them. Do you just close your eyes and imagine them as something different? That actually sounded like it would work, so you closed your eyes and imagined yourself in something casual you always wore from your closet. You opened your eyes and were surprised and disappointed at the same time. It did work, but only half way. Your previously ugly pajama pants were now your favorite pair of jeans. But the ugly shirt was the same. You sighed and figured you just had to concentrate more. So you reclosed your eyes and took a deep breath and imagined one of your favorite shirts. A few tense seconds later you opened your eyes again and looked down. And you grinned when you saw the familiar and beautiful pattern of your favorite top. You let out a whispered 'yay' to yourself before looking around at your gorgeous surroundings. It was mostly just a picturesque beach but further up said beach it changed from sand to dark green grass. You followed the soft, green path until you started walking between tall grey buildings. You peeked into a couple windows and saw they were houses of some sort. At least you thought they were houses. But before you could think any further about them you heard people talking. You followed the voices and were about to round the corner of one of the grey square houses but froze when you heard a bitchy female voice say in a scathing tone, "Oh my gog Ampora! Just clam up! You are such a delusional loser! There is no way you made out with a human gill! Stop lying, it just makes you even more pathetic than you usually are!" And you heard another softer voice sigh and say in exasperation, "Oh Cronus, these stories are getting a bit far fetched." My god, what hateful bitches said things that hateful? You poked your head around the corner of the building and saw three people. One you immediately recognized. It was the cute horned boy from the night before! And he was with two girls that looked around his age. One was in a lolita-ish blue dress and red mary-janes while the other was in grey jeans, a black T-shirt, and fuchsia sneakers. The one in the dress had a short messy haircut while the other girl had two ridiculously long braids going down her back. But both girls had horns the same color as the boy from before. And the one in the fuchsia sneakers even had fin looking ears and shark looking teeth like him too. While the blue dress girl had vampire looking fangs and pointed elf ears. Though they all shared the same grey skin. Once you finished looking the girls over you noticed that the boy looked sad. Like, really sad. Almost in tears sad. And you figured the girl in the fuchsia shoes was the one to say the hurtful things because she looked pretty pissed off while the other girl looked rather unaffected by them both. But that melancholy look on the greaser boy's face made your heart ache painfully. He looked so...depressed. Like he was ready to just give up hope. That look made you feel like crying. And when the fin eared girl laughed patronizingly and called the sad greaser boy a 'glubbin' loser' you narrowed your eyes in silent hate and decided to show that bitch that it wasn't nice to hurt other people. Especially not cute boys who looked so down in the dumps. So you ducked back around the building so you were hidden again. Then you looked yourself over in the house's weird windows to make sure your hair was nice and that you looked good. Then you smirked and resolved to show that snotty little bitch that the greaser boy HAD in fact kissed himself a human woman~ So once you felt you looked your best you strutted around the corner of the house and out into the open. The three younger people saw you and Cronus grinned and called out in a giddy voice, "(_)! Babe! I knewv you wvas coming back!" The two girls were shocked and the one with the crazy long braids actually gaped like a fish, which made you snicker. But you didn't pay them any more mind. You focused all your attentions on the boy with the slicked back hair. You grinned and wrapped your arms around his neck and cooed lovingly, "Awww~ What's the matter cutie-fish? You look kinda down~" He just blushed from the sweet gestures and shrugged silently even though he was grinning like mad. You giggled and pecked him on the lips and whispered cheekily, "What say you show me around?" He nodded happily and you chuckled as you let him lead you away. But before either of you could get far the loud mouthed girl with the braids yelled, "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hold up Cronus!" You saw the boy, now known as Cronus, wince before he stopped and looked back at the braids girl and the red shoes girl who was right behind the braids girl. "Yeah Peixes? I'm kinda busy here." He said with annoyance, though you could see the worry right below the surface. But the two younger girls didn't seem to notice. Because the braids girl grinned and it came out more malicious than I think she intended. And the other girl smiled too but it looked a tad forced, like she didn't really mean it. It reminded you of the practiced smiles flight attendants wore everyday. Frankly it was creeping you out. You wondered why Cronus was talking to these two vipers. But then the braids girl, Peixes, started talking so you figured you should try and listen. If for no other reason than to be polite. Your mother didn't raise some rude punk after all. "Whale dam Cronus! I guess you reely were tailing the truth when you said you smooched a human gill~!" The Peixes girl laughed loudly and obnoxiously and you grimaced. She reminded you of those unpleasant teenagers you saw on your way to lunch everyday. The girls were always squealing over stupid shit and the boys were always whistling and catcalling at you whenever you passed them. You knew you looked hot in your fucking blazer and tight ass pencil skirt okay? But you don't need a herd of hormonal, zit ridden fuck-heads to remind you by yelling shitty pick up lines at you across a courtyard. You glanced at Cronus and saw him shoot you a smile before he answered the Peixes girl. He looked rather reluctant but gave her a cocky smile and said in a haughty tone that you thought was cute, "Wvell yeah, I said I did, didn't I Meenah?" He wrapped his arm around your waist but froze slightly. He slowly glanced at you from the corner of his milky eyes like he was afraid you were going to scold him for his bold behavior. But you just smiled and leaned your head against his shoulder. His grin broadened and he flashed the two grey skinned girls a smug look, like he was showing off a fine treasure. But Meenah just smirked and asked, "Yeah whale, what's wrong with her? Somefin has to be if she's desperate enough to go out with you." She laughed at her own mean spirited joke and you narrowed your eyes at the rail thin girl but quickly plastered a confused look on your face. You then looked at Cronus and cocked your head to the side and asked the boy, "What does he mean? Why does there have to be something wrong with me?" Cronus caught your 'slip up' and snorted. Even the previously quiet girl in the red shoes chuckled. But Meenah didn't think it was very funny. She glared right at you and said with a hiss, "Eh?! I'm a gil! Not no buoy!" You pretended to be shocked and said, "Really? But I thought..." But Meenah cut you off and demanded, "Thought what? How could you mistake **me** for a buoy?" And you coughed like you were embarrassed, though you were laughing on the inside, and replied, "Well...I meant no offense to you. But I thought you were a boy. I mean...with your waifish figure and brash attitude...you just seem more boyish." Meenah gasped and flushed dark pink and said in disbelief, "I...I just...cannot bereef you thought..." but then she paused in thought before she burst in anger. "HEY NOW! Just water you mean by 'waifish figure'? I'm all woman gilly!" She huffed and stuck her nose in the air while simultaneously putting her hands on her narrow hips. You couldn't help the giggle that bubbled up from your throat and apparently neither could Cronus because he had to cough to hide his laughter. Meenah glared and said scathingly, "Well at least I'm not a fat sea cow like you!" Cronus stopped laughing almost immediately and glared daggers at the now smirking girl but you just chuckled and shrugged your shoulders carelessly. You were anything but fat. And you were nowhere near sea cow level. But you supposed the gilled girl was feeling a bit insecure around you. After all, with you and your obviously much more mature body standing next to hers must make her feel bad. And the way Cronus was glaring at her was cute. And you couldn't help but think almost everything he did as cute~ He really was a cutie-fish. "Oh I know you're just acting so hostile because you feel insecure in your body. But there's nothing wrong with a slender frame Meenah~ Some guys find that body type very desirable. There's no reason for you to be jealous of my curves. Just because I have big breasts and a generous butt doesn't mean I'm any more aesthetically pleasing than you are." Meenah blushed pink. Whether from embarrassment or shame you weren't sure. But you figured it might be from embarrassment because the girl next to her was blushing too. Though her blush was blue and not pink or violet. Meenah struggled for a reply so you took the offered chance to abscond with Cronus. Said boy was biting his lip to stave off his laughter. "Well it was lovely talking to you both~ Sorry I didn't catch your name blue dress girl. Maybe we'll be properly introduced later. But Cronus and I have a date~ So goodbye!" Cronus gave you a shocked look as you dragged him away from the two females. And when you were far enough away that you couldn't see them anymore Cronus spoke up in a small and nervous voice, "D-did ya mean it doll?" You quirked an eyebrow and made a questioning sound and Cronus took a deep breath and let it out before elaborating. "Did you mean it wvhen you said wve had a...d-date?" Your confusion faded away into fond affection and you chuckled and said with certainty, "Of course I did Cronus~ That is if you even want to go on a date with me." The eager nodding and infectious grin he gave you was verbal answer enough for you and you giggled. "Well okay then. Looks like we have a date." And you'll let the goofy answering smile he let slip go. And only because he was so damned adorkable.


	3. Broken Dam

Cronus panted as he watched (_) run her hands up and down her supple body teasingly. She giggled before she moaned the blushing sea dweller's name. He gulped as he watched his human flush crush slip her hand passed the waistband of her jeans. And he let out a guttural groan when the frisky human started toying with herself. Sweet, feminine moans filled the air of his bedroom and Cronus bit his lip as he watched. He could sparsely believe this was real. But suddenly the sea dweller's vision blurred as he heard a loud noise. But the noise was muffled somehow. A second passed and it went away so he ignored it. Then it came back louder than before. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* Cronus jolted awake in his recoopercoon before sighing in realization. He sunk back in the slime with a pitiable groan of disappointment. It had all been a dream! "Wvell fuck." he mumbled in a sulky manner. But the knocking at his hive door continued. He growled as he hurried to get out of his pod and dry off. He threw on a shirt and pajama pants before he looked at his bed. He'd gotten the thing so he could try sleeping like humans do. It hadn't worked out. He'd forgotten that humans aren't plagued with the nightmare visions trolls were when they slept. And after that first disastrous night he'd begun using it as a glorified couch. He used it to lay on so he could watch his movies, write song, and generally laze about. Though now he was triple glad he'd gotten it. Because now (_) used it to sleep on. For the first few times she'd left the dream bubbles her whole body had simply faded away completely. And when she came back she'd simply fade into view in random places before she got up to find him. But then one day that changed. It had started normal. Where she faded into view and then searched him out. And they'd spent all day hanging out and exploring the bubbles before they went back to his place to watch movies. But when (_) said it was time for her to go she seemed to fall asleep. She didn't disappear like she usually did but instead her body slumped forward unconscious. He tried waking her up but she wouldn't. He didn't know what to do so he just picked her up and carried her to his human bed. He laid her down, pulled back the covers, then tucked her in and let her sleep. He was so worried something was wrong because this had never happened before. But then some time later (it was hard to tell time in the dream bubbles) she woke up. She sat up and stretched before looking around. She smiled when she spotted him and he knew everything was okay. And when he told her what happened she just shrugged and said she felt the same as before. And that was all that was said on the subject. **KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK** "Okay! I'm coming! Jeez~" he yelled angrily as he stomped downstairs to the front door. He knew no matter how loud he was he wouldn't wake (_) up. When she was out she slept like a rock. Cronus got to the first floor and rushed to the door before wrenching it open with an angry "Wvhat?". There stood Kankri in all his red sweater glory. Cronus was kind of surprised that someone was here at his hive. Usually he had to go search his 'friends' out if he wanted any social interaction. Nobody ever came in search of him. But the violet blood supposed there was a first time for everything. "Ah, good day Cronus. Pardon my intrusion on any of your current activities. #curiosity #unexpected visit #possible intrusion of privacy. But I came to inquire of your well being. I hope my curiosity doesn't trigger you. But neither I nor anyone else has seen you for quite some time. And though most did not seem to be upset I myself became worried. I usually see you at least every other day. But it has been almost two weeks since you last attended one of my sermons." Cronus sighed and patted the pockets of his pajama pants in search of his pack of cigarettes. He pulled them out and popped one in his mouth and let it casually hang from his lips like he usually did. Then he looked back up at his friend. Or the closest thing to a friend that Cronus felt he had anyways. But Cronus didn't want to focus on any poisonous thoughts today. Instead he just chewed on the end of his Tabaco stick and asked, "Is that the only reason you're here Kankri? You missed havwing someone listen to your sermons?" Kankri's jaw dropped a bit before he frowned and replied, "I find that statement very triggering Cronus. Not only did you fail to tag your triggers but you didn't check your privilege. Plus I was genuinely worried about you. But I see now that my worry is unwanted. I'll cease this conversation now to spare you any further unpleasant communication between us." Cronus rolled his eyes at the candy red blooded troll and said with a sigh, "Don't get your tights in a bunch Kankri. I'm just wvondering wvhy you're here is all. It's not like any of you guys havwe cared to visit me before. And by the wvay, howv did you evwen knowv wvhere my hivwe wvas? Like I said, none of you guys havwe been here before." Kankri coughed awkwardly into his fist and said, "Well I asked around but nobody knew where your hive was. Which is dangerous by the way Cronus. What if something happened to you? Nobody could come to your aid! What then?" Cronus looked nonplussed and replied in an almost...dead tone, "I can't imagine anyone would care Kankri." Kankri froze at the macabre statement. Cronus must have been serious. He didn't bother using his quirk. "Cronus, I hope you weren't trying to be humorous. Because I found that to be in no way funny. As a matter of fact I found it to be in bad taste and rather trig-"the smaller troll was inexplicably cut off when the sea dweller barked, "Yeah triggering, I knowv! I wvasn't trying to be funny Kankri. I knowv for a fact that if I wvere to double die right nowv, none of you guys wvould have evwen noticed! None of you care about me so stop pretending you do! You didn't care wvhen wve wvere alivwe and you don't care nowv!" Kankri couldn't believe what he was hearing. Of course he cared about Cronus. They've known each other since before their session began and ended all those sweeps ago. He knew Cronus before he settled on his Greaser look and slicked back hair. Back when he used to wear his cape and glasses, and carry around his magic wand. "Cronus! #raised voice #flurry of emotions #disbelief #loud argument. I can't believe you think that. Of course I care. I've always cared! You're the one who began distancing yourself from me! Just one day out of the blue we weren't the same anymore!" Cronus was surprised that the usually level headed troll had actually started yelling but he wouldn't be swayed. He was not in the wrong here. And he refused to bow anymore. The violet blood grit his sharp teeth together and yelled back, "OF COURSE WE WEREN'T THE SAME! Kankri, you say you cared but you were never there for me! Through all the shit I went through and you never once tried to pull me out of my depression! And yes! I _was _depressed! I was fucking drowning and nobody tried to help me! Some days I couldn't even be bothered to crawl out of my recoopercoon!" The sea dweller choked on a sob and ran a rough, shaking hand through his messy, gel free locks. He was close to tears but he didn't care. He'd been bottling these feelings up for so long. He was surprised he hadn't cracked before now. But he guessed that this little conversation was the straw that finally broke the camel's back. Cronus looked up into the milky white eyes of his 'friend' and let slip something that he hadn't told anyone before. Alive or dead, nobody knew until now. "And you know the worst part of it? Remember when I threatened to kill myself during the game? You probably don't. You probably just pushed that insignificant memory out of your think pan right? Yeah well, at that time that was me crying out for help! And NONE of you tried to stop me! Not even any token resistance. You all treated me like a fucking joke! But ya wanna know the real kicker in all this? Two days after you all basically abandoned me, Meenah killed us all anyways! She beat me to it! The morning of the day we all died together I was _seconds_ away from slitting my throat open when she hit me up on Trollian and demanded we all meet up! I didn't even want to meet you all after what you all did to me! But Meenah, that bitch, she fucking bullied me until I finally gave in and came. And then she fucking blew us all up!" Cronus finally broke down into tears. Full body wracking sobs shook through his frame. His shaking body fell sideways against the doorframe so he stayed propped up. Kankri couldn't believe what he was hearing. He did in fact remember when Cronus threatened that he would kill himself. Kankri remembered they were deep into the game. And things weren't going well, quite the opposite really. Things were going to hell. What with Meenah pushing Damara over the edge and the red blood troll going crazy and initiating the scratch. And Kankri felt like a bastard to remember it, but at the time nobody wanted to deal with anymore drama. So they all callously brushed the sea dweller's suicidal declaration off. But Kankri didn't think Cronus had actually meant it. He just figured Cronus needed more attention. But apparently he'd been wrong. Horribly wrong. His friend said he was going to kill himself and he did nothing. How could he do that and still call himself his friend? He recalled Cronus always being there to listen to him vent after his failed sermons. Always there to lend an ear and never asking for anything in return. He didn't even ask for one of his quadrants like he usually did with people. And then when he did finally ask for something, which turned out to be just a little emotional support, Kankri turned him away. "Oh Cronus, I am so sorry. I hadn't known. I didn't think you were serious." The shorter candy red troll felt tears well in his eyes before they dripped down his cheeks. He stepped forward and reached a hand out to the violet blood. But the minute his yellow clawed, grey hand came into contact with Cronus the sobbing troll lurched back like Kankri's hand were fire. Cronus used the heel of his hand to harshly rub his violet tinted tears away and hissed, "Don't fucking touch me! Don't. Just...don't touch me. You're a couple fucking centuries too late to be trying to comfort me you asshole. And you know what? Just leave. Get out of here. Just run back to Porrim and don't bother me ever again!" Kankri watched in shock as the very angry Cronus stepped back into his hive as he yelled at him. Then once he was done yelling he slammed the door shut in the smaller troll's face. Kankri could do nothing more than stand there in complete shock. Once the numbness set in he stiffly turned on his heel and began his journey back to his own hive. He knew pressing the issue would do nothing but worsen the current situation. And he had a lot to think about right now. The candy red blood had absolutely no clue where to even think about beginning. He was lost. But distantly he thought maybe Porrim could help him try and figure this all out. Meanwhile back with Cronus. After he slammed the door closed he fell against it and cried. He slid down the wood before landing in a heap on the cold ground. The many, many sweeps of torment, verbal and physical abuse, shunning, mockery, neglect, and overall hate were coming out at this very second. And there was nothing the violet blood could do to stave off the tears. He actually started sobbing so hard that he slipped into a coughing fit. As he choked on his tears soft footsteps descended the stairs... You watched the unaware sea dweller from your place at the bottom of the stairs. Unbeknownst to Cronus, you'd woken up about the same time he'd started stomping down to the first floor. You'd wondered who could have been knocking because in the time you've been visiting this place nobody has ever come to the sea dweller's house. Or hive as he admitted they were commonly called. But when you'd gotten up to follow after him you heard the beginning of the argument he had with Kankri. You froze near the corner of the stairs that wasn't visible from the doorway. You heard everything. And you couldn't believe it at first. Cronus just didn't seem the type to try and commit suicide. But you supposed everyone had their limits. And then he let slip the bit about Meenah blowing them all up. Now that you could believe. That weird gilled girl always seemed a tad too off for your liking. Plus she seemed irrational enough to try something so ballsy. But you were broken from your thoughts by the sound of the door slamming. Then loud sobbing. You followed the noise and found Cronus in a heap by the door, crying his milky eyes out hysterically. You went over to him and kneeled down so you were sitting in front of him. You cautiously reached a hand out to him and said softly, "Cronus?" The 50s styled troll's head whipped up and he looked at you with wide eyes. You gave him the gentlest smile you could form and held your arms open for him if he wanted to hug. You didn't wait long before you had a lap full of Cronus. You wrapped your arms around his waist while his went around your neck. He clung to you for dear life as he continued his break down. You maneuvered his head so it was nestled in the crook of your neck, careful of his horns. You rocked him back and forth and started humming some nonsensical tune, you couldn't recall the place you'd heard it. But that was trivial stuff that could be thought of later. All that mattered right now was Cronus. He was hurt and he needed you. You seemed to be all he had. You let him cry and cry until he wore himself out. He passed out exhausted in your arms and when you tried to get up he whined in his sleep. You gave him a fond smile and let him resume his clinging. He deserved to cling as much as he wanted. So with that in mind you just tipped yourself to the right and laid on your side with Cronus cuddled against you. Sleeping on the floor probably wasn't the smartest thing to do but you didn't want to move right now. So with a yawn you closed your eyes and settled in for a short nap.


	4. The Life and Death of Cronus Ampora

You were sitting in Cronus's rather large bathtub with said sea dweller cuddled against your bare chest. Surprisingly neither of you were trying anything sexual even though you both knew you were attracted to each other. Probably because not even an hour earlier Cronus was crying his heart out. Now you were both just relaxing together. Cronus had his head laying between your breasts with his eyes closed in contentment. He found your steady heartbeat soothing, therapeutic almost. You giggled when Cronus made a curring bubbly noise. You supposed if a fish could purr that's probably what it would sound like. Cronus didn't seem like he was going to be moving for a while so you grabbed a bathing sponge and an unlabeled bottle of lavender colored gel. You smelled it and sighed in bliss. It smelled just like your favorite troll. It was masculine with sweet undertones. 'Perfect for Cronus~' you thought with a smile. You poured some on the sponge before lathering it up into a nice foam. Then you started washing up and down Cronus's back. Over his arms and across his shoulder blades tenderly. The troll in your lap smiled and snuggled his head against you happily and enjoyed the soft touches from your caring hands. He'd never had somebody bathe him before. Not even SeahorseDad did nice things like this for him. Having seen how human custodians, or parents as he'd learned they were called, took care of their young Cronus noticed that Seahorsedad seemed more like having a pet rather than a parent. But while Cronus mulled over thoughts of custodians and comfort, you were thinking about all of the different things you'd heard earlier. You really wanted to talk to Cronus about them, and about his past. You knew keeping stuff like that bottled up was incredibly unhealthy. You'd seen first hand the effects holding your emotions in could have. And it was not pretty. So you took a deep, steadying breath before clearing your throat to get the troll's attention. "Cronus?" The sea dweller cracked an eye open and hummed questioningly in response. You licked your lips nervously and asked cautiously, "Cronus, do you wanna talk about what happed earlier? I mean, from what I gleaned, its been a very long time since you've had anyone to really listen to you. And I think...maybe talking it out would do you some good." Cronus had both eyes opened now and was staring at the wall next to you. His brows were furrowed as he thought about what you'd just said. He knew you were right. His little freak out earlier was evidence enough that keeping his thoughts to himself did not end well. But you took his silence the wrong way and quickly added, "But you don't have to if you don't want to! I was only making a suggestion Cro~" The sea dweller lazily looked up at you and sighed. "No, you're right (_). I just...I don't really knowv wvhere to begin." You smiled and leaned down so your nose was touching the troll's and said, "The beginning might be a good place~" Cronus chuckled before he sighed and laid his head back down on your chest. He hummed in thought, wondering where to begin. He figured a brief summary of his life would do for now. He didn't want to overload you with his life story. And you let him gather his thoughts in peace. You didn't want to push him. He might close himself off to you and you didn't want that. You didn't have to wait for long before the sea dweller spoke anyways. "Wvell...I wvas hatched on a planet called Beforus. I livwed a pretty okay life at first. I wvould practice my magicks and help hunt dowvn beasts for the empress's lusus to eat during the night and sleep during the day. Things wvere normal. But then someone, I don't evwen remember wvho it wvas because it happened so long ago, they told us about the game. _Sgrub._ Wve had to enter the game and wvin. But wvhat I do remember is that I didn't wvant to enter the game after I found out that once you start the game it kills evwerybody on your world except the players. I didn't wvant to murder an entire planet full of different species to play a glubbin game. But Meenah wvas dead set on playing. She hated Beforus wvith a burning passion, she said it wvas too peaceful and boring for her. She hated it almost as much as she hated her ancestor the Empress." The troll sighed and figured he was getting off topic. "But anywvays, they couldn't start the game wvithout all the starter players present so Meenah made me go. She didn't tell me that little tidbit though, about needing all players to start. If she had I wvould havwe stayed regardless of wvhat they said. Instead she lied to me and said that if I didn't join them I wvould die wvith evweryone else on Beforus. And I'll admit...I wvas scared to die so I ended up going wvith them." Cronus sighed at the memory but went on. "Evweything wvas so much fun in the beginning. Wve all travweled to our respectivwe wvorlds and conquered them. And on my planet...there wvere freaky angels. And they wvhispered things to me. Prophesies of howv I wvas destined to savwe us all." Cronus glared hatefully at the tile wall and clenched his teeth together as he remembered the angels. "They said I wvas hatched to defeat an extraordinarily evwil magician. And for a wvhile I stupidly believwed them. I trained so hard. I wvorked on my magick as wvell as my body. I wvanted to be in peak condition for wvhen I had to go up against the Evil One. But...I guess I just...lost faith in myself. Though it's kinda hard to havwe faith in yourself wvhen evweryone around you thinks you're a wvorthless fool." The sea dweller bit his lip and held in his tears. But he felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth when you rubbed his back comfortingly. He toughened his resolve and continued. "And then things wvent from 'not so great' to 'bad' to 'straight up hell' in zero to sixty. I slipped in and out of depression. Some days wvould be better than others. I'd actually feel up to getting dressed and going out, talking and interacting wvith evweryone. But others days...I couldn't function. I couldn't evwen muster the energy needed to crawvl my sorry behind outta my coon. And to make matters wvorse, the game wvas getting pretty heated and nobody seemed to knowv howv to beat it. And then wvhat happened to Mituna...I still don't remember much of wvhat happened there. Evwerything's kinda fuzzy. And evwery time I wvent around Mituna I wvould feel sick. And I kept havwing daymares. Evwen wvhen I slept in my recoopercoon! That's almost unheard of in troll society! No troll gets daymares while in sopor!" Cronus felt his heart speed up as he remembered the horrific daymares as if they'd happened the day before and not another lifetime ago. He decided to hurry up and finish his story. "Soon after that evweryone found out that Rufioh cheated on Damara wvith Horuss. Man, that was sevwerely uncool of him. Damara wvas radically different from howv she is nowv, before wve all died. She wvas the swveetest troll in all of Beforus. She nevwer had a mean wvord to say about anybody. But after Rufioh dumped her Meenah started her bullying. She wvas relentless on the poor gill. Evwery time Damara and Meenah wvere in the same place is wvas like wvatching a slaughter. It wvas painful to wvatch. And I regret nevwer helping her. But I look back nowv and see that I wvas too much of a mess myself to help anyone. And around that time I was getting scared. I needed help and I needed it fast. But nobody seemed to care. So I decided in a last ditch cry for help I'd threaten to kill myself. And...I couldn't believe it but...nobody even batted an eye. They were completely unfazed. None of them cared if I lived or died." You pursed your lips and glared daggers at the ceiling above you both. It seemed to you that this Meenah girl was the source of lots of trolls problems. And most of the trolls in general sounded like heartless monsters that deserved their deaths. But you tuned back into focus when Cronus began talking again. "And then one day after my failed cry for help Damara just...snapped. She wvent lusus shit insane and started jinxing our session. And she must havwe been feelin' pretty vengeful about howv he hurt her because she paralyzed Rufioh from the neck down. And nobody but Rufioh knowvs for sure but a fewv are saying she killed him soon after too. But then Damara wvent after Meenah for revenge. They fought to the death and Damara won. But sadly it wvas a hollowv vwictory because right after she killed the bitch she just came back in her godtier form." You briefly wondered what a godtier form was but decided to ask him about it later after he was done talking. "And then I heard that Damara started the Scratch so wve could all start over. That wvas the same day I decided to end it all. I was on my planet...and I had a broken piece of glass in my hand. I was seconds from doing it but then Meenah started pestering me. I wvas shocked at first. Because nobody evwer messaged me first. I had to reach out to them if I wvanted someone to talk to. But wvhen I answered she told me she needed evweryone to come meet her. I told her to buzz off but she wouldn't leavwe me alone. She said she needed to talk to evweryone. And evwentually I cavwed and told her I'd be there. But wvhen wve all arrivwed she pulled a bomb out and blewv us all to kingdom come. The crazy bitch." The sea dweller sighed and finished, "And after that wve all ended up in the dream bubbles. And we'vwe been there for wvho knowvs howv long nowv." You took in everything you were just told. You could not believe most of what you'd just heard. Not because you thought Cronus was lying but because you couldn't believe people could actually be so cruel. And you really couldn't believe Cronus had the ability to still get up and be in close proximity with all the people who'd hurt him so badly. He must have developed quite the mask for those monsters. You had a whole new level of respect for the emotionally wounded sea dwelling troll. Cronus looked up into your eyes and you stared down at his milky ones before giving him a serious look. He'd never seen you look so serious before. And he was kind of dreading what you were going to say to him after all he'd just unloaded onto you. You took a deep, calming breath and let it out before asking in a neutral voice, "Cronus. Why didn't you tell me you could do magic?" The violet blood gave you a dumbfounded expression before he burst into raucous laughter. After everything he just told you, THAT was what you wanted to know?! But he was happy! He was glad you weren't trying to tell him it was all okay. You weren't trying to give him any false or meaningless sympathy. Instead you were just trying to cheer him up. And he'd never had anything like that before. It was nice. Having someone to talk to, to joke around with, to kiss~ And now here you were trying to lift his bruised and broken spirit. And shockingly you were bringing actual hope back to the once hopeless Bard of Hope. "Yes I could back in the day. Not sure if I'm any good at it nowv though. It's been forevwer since I'vwe tried." Your serious façade dropped and you smiled. Then you craned your neck down and kissed Cronus on the nose. "Well you and I need to get out of this tub so you can show me your tricks! Cuz I don't know about you but I freaking love magic." Cronus gave you a soft smile and hugged you. For the first time in who knows how long, he had peace of mind. And it was all thanks to you. The sea dweller sat up and grinned. "Yeah I lovwe it too~"


	5. Kankri and Porrim

Kankri swallowed back his tears as he made his way back to his hive. He hoped to see Porrim along the way so he could talk to her but he hadn't. He'd seen Latula and Mituna but had avoided them, he didn't want them to see him right now. His obvious melancholy demeanor might trigger them. He unlocked his hive door and stepped in, not bothering to lock it after himself. Shoulders slumped and head bowed he made his way to his respiteblock to contact Porrim. He signed onto Trollian and luckily his jade blooded friend was on. He dearly hoped she could help him work through all of this. Usually he'd just do it himself but he didn't think he could manage it this time. He waited for her to respond and sat up straighter in his desk chair when she answered. **kankriVantas [KV] started pestering po+rrimMaryam [PM] at XX:XX KV: P9rrim, may I speak with y9u please? ... ... ... ... PM: Go+o+d evening Kankri. To+ what do+ I o+we the pleasure? KV: Greetings P9rrim. ...I am not entirely sure how to ask my next question. KV: Trigger warnings may include #negative emotions #hurt feelings #regret #shame #emotional outbursts PM: O+h dear, this do+es so+und serio+us. Maybe I sho+uld co+me o+ver. KV: Yes I think that w9uld 6e 6est. PM: I'll be there so+o+n Kankri. po+rrimMaryam [PM] ceased peastering kankriVantas [KV] at XX:XX** Kankri went and sat in his living room to wait for Porrim. He didn't sit there waiting for long before there was knocking at his hive door. He got up and opened the door, Porrim's softly smiling face on the other side. He moved aside to let her in and they both went and sat on the couch. The jade blood turned to face him and asked, "O+kay Kankri, what's tro+ubling yo+u? Yo+u mentio+ned hurt feelings and regret in yo+ur message." Kankri sighed and nodded. He didn't even know where to begin. He supposed if he wanted Porrim to fully understand then he'd have to start from the beginning of what actually happened. "9kay P9rrim. T9 understand I'll have t9 tell y9u my day. It all started when I n9ticed Cr9nus had yet to make his usual appearance..." But before he could go on Porrim cut him off and said with annoyance, "Cro+nus? Is he the reaso+n yo+u're upset? I swear if I see his fishy face I'll-" Kankri sighed and cut back in, "N9 P9rrim! Please let me finish. Y9u kn9w h9w triggering it is t9 interrupt s9me9ne. N9w where was I? Ah yes, Cr9nus..." The candy red troll went on to tell Porrim about how he'd noticed that the sea dweller hadn't bothered to show his face for some time. And Kankri admitted he'd become a tad worried, so he'd endeavored to search him out to make sure all was well. "But it wasn't P9rrim. Everything was far fr9m well." He explained how he managed to find Cronus's hive, but only after he searched through three different dream bubbles. And that when he knocked and Cronus answered he expected Cronus to be somewhat happy to see him. "6ut he wasn't at all. If anything he seemed sh9cked, but then he l99ked b9thered with my very presence." Then Kankri shamefully said Cronus gave him the same look he'd noticed the others shoot Cronus's way. A look of annoyance. Then he told her how Cronus said that none of them would care if he double died right then and there. Porrim rolled her eyes at hearing that. To her it sounded like Cronus was just being as melodramatic as always. But what Kankri said next made her pause. "P9rrim, I think he's right. 6esides me, d9 y9u think any9ne w9uld n9tice if Cr9nus just...ceased t9 exist?" The jade blood gulped slightly but shrugged the queasy feeling Kankri's words gave her off and said in her usual dulcet tones, "O+h I'm sure there wo+uld be plenty o+f tro+lls who+ wo+uld miss him. Like...um...well yo+u wo+uld and..." Porrim looked away from Kankri's accusatory stare as she floundered for words. Porrim guiltily sighed and admitted she couldn't think of anyone else, which only made her guilt grow. Kankri groaned and held his head in his hand as he told Porrim the rest of the story. About how Cronus said they hadn't been friends for a very long time. "He's right P9rrim. I've 6een an awful friend t9 him. I'm s9 ashamed 9f myself! Y9u may n9t 6elieve it 6ut Cr9nus was a very g99d friend t9 me P9rrim. He was always there t9 listen t9 me when everyone else made fun 9f me 9r called me The Insufferable. And I c9uldn't even return the fav9r." The male was in tears by the end of his sentence. Everything he'd bottled up during and after his confrontation with Cronus was coming out now. Porrim frowned and deep down she knew her guilt was warranted. She'd been just as cruel to Cronus as the others. Kankri's tears didn't slow, if anything they grew heavier. "And he said 6efore M-meenah killed us all that he was g9ing t9 c-c-c9mmit suic-cide! Said h-he was just going t-t-to s-slit his own th-throat! He even warned us that he was! 6ut we were all s-s9 jaded that we pushed him away P9rrim! We didn't care!" Porrim's milky eyes widened as she absorbed that bit of information. She couldn't believe it. Cronus just didn't seem like the kind of troll to commit suicide. To her he seemed far too full of himself to even think of it. But Porrim couldn't help but think that maybe she didn't know the sea dweller as well as she thought. If the bombs Kankri were dropping were true then...none of them knew Cronus beyond the surface. 'Probably because we never bothered to look any further.' she thought nervously to herself. Suddenly memories of her interacting with Cronus seemed to spring to the front of her mind. Though it could hardly be called interacting seeing as Porrim more or less ignored the sea dweller every time he tried to start a conversation with her. It didn't even matter what he was talking about, Porrim just tuned him out or started walking away. To be fair a few of the instances had been Cronus flirting or hitting on her. But Porrim recalled with shame that the other times he'd just been starting up casual conversation. He'd tried asking her what music she liked, what her favorite movie was, if she just wanted to hang out. All perfectly normal things one person would say to another. Porrim almost couldn't understand why she'd acted so harshly towards him. If earlier today someone asked Porrim to describe Cronus in as few words as possible she'd have said things like, 'Lo+ser, needy, bo+therso+me, pathetic, ho+peless, jerk, awful, pervert, and creep.' Now Porrim cringed and begrudgingly admitted to herself that though Cronus wasn't perfect he didn't deserve such scorn from her. And now that she thought about it he couldn't really be classified as a loser or needy. 'Yo+u'd actually need to+ HAVE someo+ne in o+rder to+ be needy.' she thought sadly. And him wanting actual troll interaction was really just a basic need, not bothersome. And she admitted that he could be a jerk but so could a lot of other trolls. And he was no more perverted than Mintuna now that she was being honest. Mituna may have been messed up in his accident but that did nothing to prevent him from being lewd or suggestive. And even sometimes outright perverted, he even once suggested a bubble wide strip search~ Now how was it fair to call Cronus a pervert or a creep when he'd never been as ballsy as the Gemini? 'Ho+w do+es a misunderstanding this huge even happen in real life?' the tattoo covered troll thought to herself worriedly. She even wondered where all this scorn had started. It wasn't normal for everyone in the bubbles to focus all their hate onto one person unprovoked. Porrim wracked her think pan to try and remember when it had all started but couldn't pinpoint a time. It was almost as if it had always been this way. Porrim wasn't sure if the others had acted this way towards Cronus before the game considering she'd had little interaction with him herself. They'd only really met officially after the game had been started. Thinking about all of this was giving the jade blood a headache. And she looked over and saw Kankri was still crying, she wanted to comfort him but knew with his hate of physical contact it wouldn't be appreciated. And Porrim felt at a loss, she didn't know how to proceed. Should they try to apologize to Cronus? Maybe start over? But Porrim wondered if perhaps...they were too late.


End file.
